Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-10-14

was gon over again them droGle days when
my boy took sick just at daylight he
crawled down onto the ground an Law there
Il spell, an then | hecrd him a-rustlin
about, an when ! looked he was kinder
diggin' in the ground, pickin' up little bits
o dirt, an THROWN EN- about. It's like
pickin' at the bedclothes / saws, my heart
a-sinkin' way down. SO he went on for
hours diggin', diggin' | put him up on the
leaves lots o. times, but he'd crawl right
down agin, so ] let him alone I last Bime-
by see he'd made quite a little hole an all
on suddent il come into my head he was
maxim q ave.
"An he was Slow an sure he dug. an
crawled in 3 he dug, an sat watchn'
hour after hour, an cryin' my poor old
heart out over him. An late in the after
noon he'd finished his work, an buried his
self, Jest leavn' little hole at his head
an he put up his little face an looked at
me SO human-like, an then he reached out
an took a little lamp o. dirt an pulled it
over the hole an he was gone, an / hadn't
anything left in all the world but my two
graves.
The old woman stopped and wiped her
eyes before she could 20 on. and / assure
you that | forgot the hero Of her story was
nothing but caterpillar, and found my
| own eyes wet
"WelI, she at last proceeded, IL didn't
disturb him. Seemed s if God had some
way o tellin dumb creeters when they was
| to die, an so | tied the nettin down over
his box an left him there
81 better not say much about that time.
! Twas bad spell My heart, that had got
| kind o soft an warm with somethin' to
| love an take care on, got hard an frozen
! agin, an oh, the hard thoughts | had O.
! God for takin' my last comfort away. an
/ lettin' both my little Jacobs 20 away to Law
| for ever n ever in the dark an cold The
| spring time came, an hated it, an oh
| dreaded the time when the fre-weed would
| come out all pink an bright, with him not
there no more to eat it, nor my curly head
ed boy to pick it, One summer day
| shan't never forget it s long s live-I was
was standin' by Jacobs little grave Q'd al
ways KEEP his box in my room Jest s it was)
when ! see the dirt had got shook off the
top, an the poor little body, all dried up
an brown now was kinder uncovered
was Jest a-goin' to cover it up agin softly.
when | see little crack come on it. an
OH | can't tell it all out in this slow, quiet
way | wish t would come on you as it
did on me that blessed day Jacob was
| comm to life agin He was-he was | |
watched him, never touchin' or speakn' to
him-though | jest ached to help-tl the
NA' ''AiiVe hil iS w as blE All beautiful. |
brown an buff an pink, an with wings
Oh. Mis- Burton, | can't put it inter words |
how felt when | see Jacob come out o. his |
very grave an spread his wings an hy |
round my room nor how | cried right out |
loud as ] see it why not my boy. too o |
Lord, you can do that Jest 5 easy S this :" |
LETT tranconia at the end of summer. |
and during the winter months heard nothing |
from the little snow-bound village But |
when June came again | sought as for |
twenty years have sought, the grand old |
mountains-old but ever new. One of my |
earliest visits was TO the little white house |
OF Aunt Randy. spied my old friend in |
the garden, aud felt sure she was having a |
friendly gossip with some winged friends |
passed through the gate to Join her, and |
as l dld 50 saw a man sitting on the door
steps lie was unmlstakaby of the genus
tramp had mean, sly face, with light |
shifting eyes, and looked thorough vaga
bond. ! wondered at his presence there
but forgot it instantly in the pleasure of
meeting again my old comrade. She knew
me at once, and her rugged face, thinner
and more worn than when | last saw her
frightened as she met me. After few
words of greeting she asked me to come
into the house, and we were soon seated in
the familiar room, the scene of Jacobs
death and apotheosis
Did you see him = she suddenly asked.
with jerk Of her head in the direction of
the front door.
Il saw man outside | replied.
Its him" she went on quietly-''my
husband, We know-Mr. Gates. He want
dead twas mistake, somehow an he
come home las winter
For minute | was speechless, and be
fore | could decide what to say, whether to
fsgp rt.utrt lot 1 Il. II.
she spoke again:
Il can speak plain to you, for | got to
feel so to home with you las summer, an
yell understan me. When l see him com
IN one day, ragged, an dirty, an'-well,
Smellin' o liquor some-I ruHt glad to see
him. There was things | couldn't disre-
member somehow; an I'd thought he was
dead an gone an got used To it AMI
didn't seem to want him Then-twas
kinder mean Of me- but | thought he'd
heard o the little property I'd come into,
an mehoe he was arter that, an | kinder
hardened my heart But when | see how
Sickly an peaked he looked, an what a hol-
Ter cough he had, an how poor an misra-
BILE he was, began to feel little more
Christian-hke. So took him in an done
for him. l pusSed him, got him new clo'es,
fed HIM up, KEEP him warm an comfort BILE
an with one of her quaint sudden smiles,
which always reminded Inc of one of those
quick darting bits of SUNLIGHT which come
at times, you know not how, over old La
fayette's rocky hrow-'an' | finished up
by gettin' kinder fond o him. Now, Mis-
Burton, she said more gravely, hes new
er had no 'dvantages He never took no
notice o. worms or secb creeters an, had no
idee what caternillars turned ;nte,. ~, o,,t.
er an as for dead things he tbev worms
or folks they was dead to his tbinkin, fo.
goodeuan So | considered all that an,
made 'lowances. am | begun IN learn him
religion. little at a time 7 didn't use no
Bible he wouldn't ha' stood tbat--none n,
his family ever vyanld tbav ainit Scr;rta,.
folks the Gatasas a;nr RI,t I told b;,II all
about the erayylin' an, Avip, creeters an
their yyavs an, held ION, nm as Cbr;stian
',amnles to humans how tbs,, s,ent nbo,t
their bizness So stiJdv an, res}ar an SDor Uer'
vided for their families an 5niIt their p,,,p
houses. am was aIN,svs to home an, how
forebanded thav Was iookin, ahead an,la,;n,
mn vittles far t6eir cbiIdlan ,rbo,s to c4r,a
arte, iem an ali them tb;nrs va Lnoa,
AM las of all | told him ,hont Tocob Va
see he liked that NOV, of o,,,.,, La++or,n ba
ever liked ANYTHING else am I never let nm
to the boy that there was anvthin,r ont q,
the yyav with his ma 90 tLs GttI,. feIler
reely set bv Mr. Gates An,vben tbe frost
,5ot outer tbe ,,ro,,,,l III; s,,,;,,,, ,,.,,,+aI
to take mn tha hov an, brira bir o,,e. fron'
North WooJstocR am teen him in tba
gr.vevard here nipber nv Az toat Mr.
Gates along. AM ne we was Lrine,ir, The
little coffin home I iast toId lin, tbst st,r,,
obout the other boi,, anA tho ,nir,ola / coz. |
With my, .o,,,n e,,as
"And was he ;n,nressed b,, II =, I os-ad
as she ston,,ad for braatb